Book Review: Pavarala, Vinod and Malik, Kanchan K., Other Voices. The Struggle for Community Radio in India, 2007, London/New Delhi/Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications, ISBN 978-0-761-93602-2

Author:

Fredrik Stiernstedt

School of Culture & Communication Södertörn University College

Abstract

Community radio broadcasts fill the air in countries around the world, and in many places, not least in the so-called developing countries, it has played a significant role in development and in social- , as well as media, change. Southern Asia, however, has long lacked community radio, even though some stumbling attempts have been made in, for example Nepal, Indonesia and most recently in Bangladesh, just to mention a few. The same goes for India, which did not have community radio until November 2006 when the Community Radio Policy was finally approved by the union cabinet. In the book Other Voices. The Struggle for Community Radio in India, authors Vinod Pavarala and Kanchan K. Malik give an account of the road towards this goal, and try to establish ”good workable models” (p. 44) for the continuing work of organizing, funding, regulating and providing content for the community radio broadcasts in India. Through four case studies of community radio projects the book also seeks to investigate the possibility of radio helping to establish counter public spheres and the potential of these counterpublics to expand ”the discursive space and facilitate collective action that could prove emancipatory” (p. 34).